Google said the reason for the delay was to make changes to the Nexus Q before delivering it to customers

Google has decided to delay the launch of its new Nexus Q media streaming device, which would normally seem like a bad deal for those who pre-ordered it -- except they're getting it for free.

Google announced the spherical device last month at its annual I/O developer conference. The Nexus Q is a cloud-based social streaming media player that canstream Google Play Music, Google Play Movies/TV, and YouTube content to your tablet, smartphone, or TV.

After its announcement, the Nexus Q took a lot of heat for its $300 price tag and lack of features. The major gripes were that the Nexus Q can only play back from Android devices and it doesn't have its own user interface.

Google said the reason for the delay was to make changes to the Nexus Q before delivering it to customers, and some suspect that those software issues will be the big changes. Google emailed the following message to those that pre-ordered the Nexus Q:

We have an important update about your Nexus Q pre-order.

When we announced Nexus Q at Google I/O, we gave away devices to attendees for an early preview. The industrial design and hardware were met with great enthusiasm. We also heard initial feedback from users that they want Nexus Q to do even more than it does today. In response, we have decided to postpone the consumer launch of Nexus Q while we work on making it even better.

To thank you for your early interest, we'd like to extend the Nexus Q preview to our pre-order customers and send you a free device. If you had other items in your order, your credit card will be charged for those items only.

Your Nexus Q will be on its way soon and you will receive a notification and tracking number from Google Play when it ships.

The Nexus Q Team

The two-pound device is equipped with a built-in 25W amp (it can be connected to an AV receiver or HDTV, though), a dual-core OMAP4460 ARM processor with SGX540 graphics, the Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich mobile operating system, an included 16GB of internal storage, Micro HDMI, TOSLink, 10/100 RJ45 and MicroUSB.

Google needs to add 2 features to this to make it a killer device: 1) Rdio/Spotify/MOG/Pandora/Rhapsody/Internet Radio compatibility through various apps and 2)iOS compatibility or a dedicated controller. Then you have a Sonos competitor at a better price.

"There's no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance." -- Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer